Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure

4 reviews

booksillremember's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I enjoy books that draw me into everyday life in a different culture and I have a soft spot for in-between characters who belong neither here nor there. The characters are complex and their actions make sense given their past. I've seen a lot of criticism of them not being likeable, I think they are in some ways and not in others, they are just flawed. I rarely see this type of criticism of the likeability of characters brought up towards male authors. Some of the most prestigious novels ever have very unlikeable characters.

Minor negative: I found the interactions and the spelling out of "the moral of the story" a bit repetitive and the ending felt like everything fell into place too neatly. 

I appreciate how the rape scene was portrayed and handled. This kind of "non-violent" rape (in quotation marks because the act itself is violence) and what it does to the victim deserves more representation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, and Suicide

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Self harm

bridget_h's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I thought the writing and structure of this book was great. However, the three main characters were all so one sided and there really wasn't anyone else to balance things out. It got tired at some point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Self harm

sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Child death, and Racism

Moderate: Racism, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child death, and Abandonment

veeteegee's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was a book that took a little while to fully grasp my attention, but I found one it did, it wasn’t released until its conclusion. The dual perspectives of Alva and Lu Fang offered a gift in providing two very different tales of longing, disappointments, triumphs, and everything in between set in two very different Chinas with a shared goal of escaping the  norm or the standard route in their own ways. I find myself curious about where their respective stories would continue to converge and divert from one another, especially in relation to their shared link to Sloan. It was definitely not a happy story, but in the sadness Aube Rey Lescure created a tale that was beautiful in its heartbreaks too.  

I am immensely grateful to the publisher for the receipt of this advanced reader’s copy of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Self harm

Minor: Xenophobia, Violence, and War